


fishing for you

by jeondekus, mayuaka



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Additional Tags Added as They Appear, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, M/M, eventual sephzack and endgame SZC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26700313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeondekus/pseuds/jeondekus, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayuaka/pseuds/mayuaka
Summary: Cloud, prince of Nibelheim, frequently sneaks out to the surface to escape the stifling nature of the palace. One day, he saves the human Zack Fair from drowning and longs to meet him again. To traverse on land, he makes a deal with a mysterious sea witch—in exchange for his voice, Sephiroth will transform him into a human.
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	fishing for you

The sky flashed in front of him a few feet away, and he ducked under the water nervously. He hadn’t expected it to darken this fast. He peeked his head out, feeling the drops of rain splatter on his head. It was an odd, cold feeling, so different from the water he lived in. When another bolt of lightning ripped the sky open, much closer this time, he gasped and dove under again, deciding that it would be best to retreat to the castle.

With a flick of his tail, he sighed and swam back towards home. There wouldn’t be any point to staying at the surface today, and he wouldn’t be able to return for a few days because the royal family from the neighboring kingdom would be visiting on official business. Cloud, soon to be king that he was, would be expected to be present at all times in order to make the good graces of the current king and queen of Mideel, and hopefully, according to his mom, charm the princess and set the stage for a future union between the two kingdoms. In other words, he would be spending five long, grueling days suffocating in the palace he was expected to call home.

A voice called his name, cutting through the water. “Cloud! What are you doing out here again?”

He groaned. How did she always manage to find him? He brushed the question off, following the sound of her voice and making his way back.

Before long, he caught up with Tifa, catching the glint of her sunset orange scales in the corner of his eye. The two swam in the direction of the castle as the brewing storm began to jostle the waters. 

After a moment in silence, she pressed him. “Were you checking out the surface? Again? And during a thunderstorm, of all the times?” 

“No,” he said, despite glaring evidence of the opposite. She opened her mouth to lecture him, presumably, but before she could get a word out, something plunged into the sea behind them, disturbing the waters enough to catch their attention. The two whipped their heads around to see the unmistakable silhouette of a human. They both jolted in surprise.

“Wait, there are humans around here? We need to go, now.” Tifa huffed, “This is why you shouldn’t be out here, Cloud!”

A human! His eyes took in the form, a tangle of limbs and sharp angles. And legs! The creature thrashed around wildly, trying and failing to reach the surface. Even from a ways away, Cloud could see the human’s bright blue eyes wild with fear, and his chest panged.

He dove after them.

In a second, he was lifting up the human by the arms, tail pushing with the effort to swim up, up, up. At the very least, he knew that humans couldn’t stay underwater for very long. If he could get this human to the surface, hopefully another one would spot him and bring him back to land.

Their heads broke the surface, the human immediately gasping and spluttering in his arms. Cloud backed away, suddenly nervous. Frantically, he glanced around, but didn’t see any other humans nearby. The only other thing on the surface was a large mass of metal, like the one he’d seen rushing past him once, loud and scary. He had slipped back down under the water in surprise back then. The one he saw now floated away from them, a billowing cloud coming from a tall protrusion on the front, getting smaller in the distance.

“Holy shit.”

Cloud’s attention snapped back to the human, who was desperately treading water next to him. His eyes were wide again, but in shock. Cloud felt a distinct urge to hide.

“Are you—are you—this is real, right? Like I didn’t drown and now I’m hallucinating?”

He stared back, eyes equally as wide as the human’s. He’d never even  _ met _ one before, dipping out of sight if he saw them on the shore, watching curiously. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him to save this one. The one thing keeping him from just turning tail and swimming back home as fast as he could was that he had no idea if the human would be able to make it back to land. It was probably pretty hard to swim without a tail.

As Cloud gathered the courage to ask, a rather powerful wave swept them both up, and he panicked as he watched the human’s head disappear under the water. He dove down and located the creature’s form, curious as to why he wasn’t flailing this time. The bright blue wasn’t there anymore, eyelids shut. 

“Cloud! Leave the human alone, don’t touch it!”

“But, it’s—” He watched him start to sink deeper into the water. “Won’t it die?”

“Other humans will probably come looking for it, and we shouldn’t be here when they come. It’ll be fine by itself.”

With how lifeless the human already seemed, Cloud doubted it. Strengthening his resolve, he took him by the arms again and swam as fast as he could.

“Cloud—”

He ignored Tifa’s protests, dashing to the surface, checking the direction of the shore, then dipping back under. Finally, he deposited the human on the sandy beach, far enough away from the tide as he could go, and swam back a bit. The human’s closed eyelids fluttered.

He hesitated. This was already risky enough, and he should probably retreat before the human regained enough consciousness to start questioning him again. But—he just wanted to make sure—

A violent cough. More spluttering, like before. Cloud was frozen in the water, almost entranced. The human’s garments were soaked through, clinging to the hard lines of his body. His hair was dripping everywhere, a dark, soggy mess. Where his torso ended, two legs jutted out, covered in the same soaked, black fabric. He spat water into his hand and shuddered at the cold rain pouring on top of them.

He was beautiful.

“Are you alright?” Cloud spoke softly, unsure. Even if he had made the decision to save him, years of being told that humans wished merfolk only harm made his voice unsteady.

The human’s gaze met his, the same awed expression from before on his face despite his shivering. “Oh my gods,” he breathed. His eyes swept over Cloud’s form, staring at the glittering mix of blue and silver scales that hovered partly above the water. “You’re real.”

“I need to go,” Cloud said, though he didn’t move. Under the gaze of the human, raindrops still relentlessly splattering across them, he wanted the moment to last just a bit longer.

“Wait! Um, I—uh, at least tell me your name?”

“Cloud,” he answered without thinking. He felt the oncoming panic subside when the human grinned at him.

“Cloud,” he echoed, “like in the sky.”

A large clap of thunder made them both flinch, and the moment was broken. He turned and dove into the water as quickly as he had come, thoughts filled with the human he was never supposed to meet, let alone save and  _ talk to,  _ and he nearly swam straight into Tifa.

“Cloud!” she gasped. “Where did you—”

“I saved him,” he said. “I left him on the shore, that’s all.”

“‘That’s all’? You could have gotten captured or even died!”

“I didn’t, and that’s what matters, right? Nibelheim still has their beloved prince.” Cloud felt a scowl pulling at his lips as they swam past the two rows of guards stationed in front of the palace entryway.

“I hope you know I have to report this to your mother.”

He sighed heavily, but nodded. He’d rather get lectured by his mother than have Tifa get demoted and replaced for covering for him. Even though she bothered him about going to the surface, Tifa was still more lenient than any other guard in the palace, and was just about the only person in his home he would call his friend— not that he would ever admit it.

Cloud braced himself as they approached the throne room, clenching his jaw when the guards threw open the doors and he immediately met his mother’s heated gaze. The two swam to the center of the room, Tifa dipping her head in respect when they came to a stop.

“Tifa,” the queen’s voice boomed through the room, “I’m certain there is a reason that you have returned with my son so late.”

“I found Prince Cloud by the surface again.” She paused, glancing at Cloud before continuing. “We returned late because he saved a human from drowning.”

Cloud stiffened as the water in the room dropped several degrees. “And I suppose he did this by dragging that human to  _ land? _ ”

“Yes, that is correct.”

His mother fixed her furious gaze on him, eyes swimming with concern and disappointment. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this again, Cloud, but  _ obviously _ you have yet to learn all the dangers associated with going to the surface, nevermind going to the shore.”

“He would have died, Mother.”

“That is none of our concern. If humans cannot survive our seas, they should not attempt to go in them. You’re lucky this wasn’t a trap and that the human wasn’t bait to lure you in. We could have lost you!”

Cloud bit back a  _ But you didn’t, _ and cast his eyes down to the floor.

“Even besides humans,” his mother hissed, “there is a much more sinister threat lurking outside our kingdom.”

Cloud groaned. “Not this again—”

“You’re not taking this seriously enough, Cloud.”

“If any sea witch was going to harm me, they would have done it by now, and I would have noticed their presence before they could even attack me.”

“If you were not so busy trying to escape to the surface so often, you would have noticed that the waters around here have been restless lately. Even the sea creatures have been scared off. Someone is going to make a move soon, and the last thing we need is you constantly putting yourself in danger.”

“That’s why you had Vincent and Barret train me. I can take care of myself.”

“Still, that would be no match for a sea witch’s magic. You did not witness firsthand the destruction the Great Calamity brought upon us. We barely managed to take power from Jenova as it is. Another war is the last thing we need.”

“A war isn’t going to start because I’m going to the surface.”

“No, but it  _ will _ start if a sea witch decides to threaten or attack you.” His mother’s features softened. “I don’t like keeping you from doing what you love, Cloud, but it’s much too dangerous right now. I’m just keeping the safety of you and the kingdom in mind when I tell you this. You understand, don’t you?”

It was hard not to when he was lectured about it every other week. “Yeah, I get it.”

“Good.” She smiled warmly at him, and he felt his stomach twist with guilt. “Now go to your room and get some rest. We have an important week ahead of us.”

After wishing his mother a good night, he turned and left the throne room, swimming to his chambers in silence.

“She really is just looking out for you.” Tifa placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know you like the surface, but promise me you won’t go back there again.”

“I won’t,” Cloud lied through his teeth. He usually went to the surface to escape the tedious monotony of the palace, feeling the sun warm his skin and taking in the beautiful sight of the shore. He’d kept away from humans all this time, but—now that he had interacted with one, his curiosity was piqued more than ever before. He had so many questions, and he knew the only way to answer them would be to return to the surface and human-watch. He didn’t like lying to the people he cared about, but he also didn’t want to have more guards watching over him if his mother caught wind of his intentions to go back. 

Bidding Tifa a good night, Cloud entered his room and drifted over to his bed, letting himself descend onto it slowly. Exhausted from the night’s events, he quickly succumbed to sleep, dreaming of sandy shores and awestruck blue eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> since this is a collaborative work between us, it'll probably take us quite a while to get out chapters, but please look forward to more!!


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